


On My Own

by Kaunis_Sielu



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-12
Updated: 2017-12-12
Packaged: 2019-02-13 21:08:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 6,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12992550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaunis_Sielu/pseuds/Kaunis_Sielu
Summary: You're used to working on your own but when the BAU rolls into town you realize that maybe some help isn't the worst idea.





	1. Chapter 1

So this was happening. Cuffs snapped tightly around your wrists and attached to the table in front of you. At 5'2" what exactly did they think you were going to do to them? Kick them in the shins? Why hadn’t Cam called yet? The arrest report must have come up on her radar by now. A dark haired man stalks into the room, FBI by the looks of him.   
“My name is Agent Hotchner I’m with the BAU, the behavioral-”  
“I know what the BAU is.” You cut him off and he looks up at you from the file that he’s been reading. “What I didn’t know was how sloppy the work they do is.”   
“Excuse me?” His face darkens and you see you hit a nerve.   
“You’ve got to put me in jail now.” You sigh, you really hate jail. “Otherwise they’re going to think I’m a snitch.”  
“What are you talking about?” He says dropping his file on the table in front of you. You’ve almost got the handcuffs undone, something that was part of your training since you were going to be undercover. The sex trade could get crazy dangerous crazy fast but you’d been lucky so far. At least until today when the raid happened, the police were searching for someone they assumed was an angry hooker who was killing her clients. That didn’t make sense, you couldn’t make money from them again next week if you killed them. One of the cuffs pops open and you wiggle your hand out of the other one without him noticing.   
“Wow, you really didn’t do your homework. I’m gonna need you to shut off the recording device in this room.” He turns away from you, then mutters out the door to someone. You grab the file folder he’s left on the table and scan through it quickly.   
“Hey! You can’t be reading that.” He says snatching it away from you. “Aren’t you supposed to be cuffed?”  
“Oh yea. I took those off.” He stares at you. “Are the cameras off?”  
“Yes.” He looks at you skeptically.   
“I’m Agent Jazlynn Richards, FBI.”


	2. Chapter 2

“I’m sorry. You’re FBI? You’re like 24.”  
“I’m 35. And yea I am.” He stares you down in disbelief. “Call Cam Leary in sex crimes she’ll confirm it.”  
“What kind of information can you give us about our UnSub?”  
“Are you kidding me?” He sits down across the table from you and levels you with a stare.   
“No.” He’s attractive, even with a small scowl on his face. You’ve heard of him, Agent Hotchner. He’s done some badass work and normally you’d be thrilled to meet him. But at this moment you’re pretty unimpressed.   
“You’ve just busted my cover. If you suddenly know a bunch about these guys it’s not going to be hard for them to figure out where you got your information. Which means I’ll have to vanish and I’m so close to figuring out who the head of the snake is. I can’t leave now.”  
“We can’t let you go either. Not until we confirm your identity.”   
“Oh my god.” You groan dropping your head back, “come on. Why would I lie about being in the FBI to the FBI?” You ask in annoyance.   
“Why do criminals do a lot of the things they do?” You roll your eyes, the door pops open again and you slump back in your chair. It’s a cop that you know is on the payroll for the pimps you’ve been working.   
“I’m telling you nothin’ cop!” You snarl, “I already told you I don’t talk to the police.” You cross your arms a scowl. Luckily he picks up on what’s going on quickly.   
“Well then we could just turn you loose. Let them think that you’re cooperating.”  
“Agent, shouldn’t she be cuffed?” Detective Corry asks.  
“I didn’t think it was necessary, Detective. We want her to work with us. Because we can help protect her.” He looks meaningfully at you and you know he’s not just playing a part.   
“I don’t need protecting.” You respond with plenty of attitude.   
“Hey!” Detective Corry snaps banging his hand down on the table, “Show some respect.”   
“Pass.” You respond coolly.   
“You slut!” He roars charging at you. Agent Hotchner pulls him away before he can lay a finger on you. He presses him against the wall until the detective stops fighting.   
“Out detective.” Agent Hotchner says. Detective Corry throws you a disgusted look and you shrink away. He slams the door behind him.   
“He’s on their payroll. You have to book me or let me go now. Whatever you do you make sure he knows I didn’t give you anything.”  
“We’re pulling you off this job.”  
“You don’t have the authority to do that and no. You’re not. I’m too close, Agent Hotchner-”  
“Hotch.”  
“What?”  
“Call me Hotch.”  
“Oh, okay Hotch. I’ll be fine. We play this right and I’ll be brought to the head of the snake. The second I know who that is and when I’m meeting him I’ll let you know.”  
“How?”  
“Before you give me my phone back add your number. Put your name as A H John.”  
“A H John?”  
“It means you’re one of my clients.” He nods, “so, what’s it going to be? A night in a cell or freedom?”  
“What do you think would be best for your rep?”  
“Well since the detective heard you threaten to make me look like a snitch by letting me go you should probably do that. He’ll back me to the guys in charge.”  
“Guys?”  
“Level two guys. There’s three of them. Twin brothers and another guy, they report to the snake.”  
“How many are in this little organization?”  
“Lots. There are at least four cops on their payroll, Corry is one and I know that Warner is another but you’ll have to sniff out the other two, or more, on your own.”  
“I’ll go get your stuff.”  
“The lock code is help.” He nods again then leaves the room. This better work.


	3. Chapter 3

They release you twenty minutes later. You immediately call Cam, who answers after the third ring.   
“You okay?” You missed your check in time by two hours.   
“I was arrested.”   
“By?”   
“It started as the police but then I met the BAU.”  
“The BAU? Agent Hotchner’s unit?”  
“Yep.”  
“Did you fill them in?”  
“Cameras off. I didn’t get to tell them much because one of our friends came in.”  
“Did he make you?”  
“No.”  
“Stay in touch. Stay safe.” You hang up with her then and make your way back to the small apartment you’ve been staying in. You get home with no problems, you know that someone is going to come harass you about what happened at the station. What you didn’t expect was for them to come pound on your door two hours later. At first you’re not sure if they’re at your door or not but sure enough, they pound again and when you open it two men come barging in looking angry. The twins.   
“What did you tell them?”  
“Nothing. Nothing I swear.” You say as they move further into your tiny apartment.  
“You’re the only one they let go.” Tito says looking fiercely at you.   
“They said that they would release me so you’d think I snitched! Ask Corry! He heard it!” They’ve backed you into a corner, Tito with his gun in his hand and Mack grabs your arm. You’re wide eyed as he shoves you against the wall, he slaps you so quickly you don’t even see it coming.   
“Bitch if you did say anything we’ll be back and you’ll get worse than that.”   
“I didn’t. I didn’t.” You say through the tears streaming down your face. That’s absolutely going to bruise, you can tell by the way it hurts. The twins leave then, and you slide to the floor. You send Cam a message and ten minutes later you get a phone call from AH John. Hotchner, or Hotch as he asked to be called.   
“Hello?”  
“Are you alright?”  
“Why?”  
“Cam Leary just called me and chewed me out for putting her agent in danger.”  
“Good.”  
“Good?”  
“Yea. You did put me in danger. The twins have already been by for a visit and I’m gonna have a hell of a time convincing the other girls to leave with a bruise on my face.”   
“They hit you?”  
“I’ve had worse.”  
“That’s not an answer.”   
“Yes. He hit me. Just once.”  
“Is there anything I can do?”   
“Stay away from me except for in an emergency. If you get a message from me and all it says is blue I need help.”   
“I’m sorry.”  
“For?”  
“This is my fault.”  
“No. It’s not. It’s mine. I should have stayed away from that house. I knew the cops knew about it but I’m so close I can taste it.”  
“Still, I’m sorry we’ve complicated things.”   
“It’s fine. I have to go.”  
“Ok.” You hang up then and sigh. The BAU being here was really going to fuck shit up.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning you examine the bruise that Mack created on your cheek. It’s not as big as you expected it to be. You’d convinced two of the other girls, Kristi and Joanna, to meet with you at a small coffee shop a few miles out of the twins territory. This bruise isn’t going to help you convince them to leave, it’s probably going to freak them out enough to rat on you.   
You arrive first and something feels off. You sit at a table in the back of the coffee shop where you can see easily but not easily be seen. You pull your phone out of your pocket and activate the tracker that you wear as an earring, just in case. You glance at the time, Kristi and Joanna are ten minutes late. Your phone buzzes, it’s a text from A H John. He seems to be having a hard time following instructions.   
‘Just got your message. Ok?’  
‘Yes. See you tonight, 9. Crossings and Fifth.’ You don’t know why Hotch’s team would have gotten the alert that you’d turned on the tracker, maybe it was because they were the closest team. At this point you didn’t really care. It’s been 20 minutes and neither of the girls have shown up. If they’ve been busted or hurt because one the twins found out they were looking to get out they’d be stopped. If they were hurt or being punished it would be all your fault. Ten more minutes pass and with a bad feeling in the pit of your stomach you leave the coffee shop. They never showed up, they might have gotten caught trying to leave the territory. You didn’t have that rule since you weren’t part of the gang too, that was going in too deep. You were worried though, and the feeling of someone watching you didn’t help that feeling in the slightest. You glance over your shoulder as you hurry down the street. You’re head home for a few hours and then get ready for the night. You always work the corner and have different agents pick you up using different pass phrases. Tonight Hotch would be picking you up so you can fill him in on what you know. You head out and sure enough, 9 on the dot he rolls up in a non-government car. You strut over and lean against the window frame.   
“Hey handsome. What are you looking for tonight?” You purr, two other girls are standing not far behind you waiting to see if he takes you or not.  
“Just some company. How much for two hours?”  
“Two hours huh?” You smile flirtatiously at him. “150.”  
“Deal.” You pop open the door and slide in. One of the twins guys is watching you and you mutter.   
“Sorry about this.” He looks at you in confusion and you lean over and press your lips to his.


	5. Chapter 5

You’re surprised he kisses you back, he even seems surprised that he’s kissed you back. You pull away after a moment and mutter, “when we drive past the guy in the blue hat grin like an idiot.” He plays his part perfectly, grinning over at you. You give him a flirtatious look, as he drives past. “Where are we going?”  
“We’ve got a safe house set up about ten minutes away.”   
“Where?”  
“Westwood Park area.”   
“Okay good.”  
“Why?”  
“That’s out of the twins territory. They run the five hundred blocks.”  
“Good to know.” He pulls the car into a driveway, there are two black SUV’s parked there and a light on inside the small house. He ushers you in where you meet the rest of his team. Morgan, Reid, Prentiss, Rossi and JJ, they’re a solid group and you can see why they’re so sought after.   
“So you don’t think that the UnSub is a woman?” Morgan asks.  
“No. It doesn’t make sense for a street girl to be killing these guys.”  
“A street girl?” Reid says, looking slightly confused.   
“There are levels of girls, there are sugar babies, they’re the ones that go places with their clients. That’s the highest you can be. Then you’ve got call girls, you call them to your hotel, motel whatever. Then you have street girls. Those are the ones that walk the corners, what I was doing today.”   
“So a street girl wouldn’t be killing because?” JJ asks.  
“A lot of these guys are repeat customers. That’s why we have some in our phones, so they can call or text and we tell them where to meet.”  
“Have you actually had a real john?” Hotch asks.   
“No,” you laugh, “it’s always FBI guys.” He nods and you glance at your phone. “We have to go. It’s almost been two hours. Were you given any cash?”  
“No why?”  
“I have to give them their cut tonight, so I’m gonna need at least 125 in cash.”  
“Wait.” Hotch looks at you in concern, “they would only let you have 25 dollars?”  
“I’m kind of in trouble right now, for being arrested and released.”  
“So that’s why you’ve got the bruise.” Prentiss comments and Hotch’s face darkens over for a second.   
“Yea. I’m fine.” You give her a small smile as Rossi hands you the cash you need.   
“I’ll make sure that you get reimbursed.” You say with a smile. You follow Hotch back to the truck and he drives you back to the street that he picked you up on.   
“Be safe.” He says, the twins are out now. Patrolling the block Tito makes eye contact with you and snarls. “One of the twins?” Hotch says softly.   
“Tito. He’s more violent but Mack was the one who hit me.”   
“Well get whoever is behind these.”  
“I have to kiss you again.”  
“Okay.” You lean toward him and press your lips to his. He cups your face with one hand and your heart pounds fiercely against your chest. You’ve had to kiss a few of the other agents but none of them have been quite like this. You almost want to press your whole body against him, be as close to him as possible. As an undercover you have to be able to turn off your emotions, it’s what’s made you good at this job, not caring too much. With Hotch though, it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be easy to keep those feelings at bay. You pull away from him and glance up at him through your eyelashes.   
“Be safe.” He whispers.   
“I will. You too. Stay in touch.” He nods and his fingers slide off your face, you climb out of the car and move away into the shadows.


	6. Chapter 6

Tito doesn’t bother you that night. You pay out and head home. Your next call in with Cam is in two hours. You’re exhausted, and pretty worried about Kristi and Johanna. You didn’t see them out tonight, that’s not usual and that makes you nervous. You call Cam exactly at your call time and fill her in on what you learned from the BAU, minus the kissing you did with Hotch. Then you crash, it’s nearly three in the morning when you finally crawl into bed.   
An hour later you’re woken by a rope tightening around your wrists. You tug your arms away, a pair of hands grab you by the hair and yank you up. You lash out with one knee and connect with someone’s face. You hear their nose break and feel their teeth scrape your skin. You twist free of the hands on your arms and use them to punch at whomever is trying to take you. It’s awkward with your wrists tied together but you’ll deal with that later. You grab your phone as you roll off the bed and run for the bathroom. You unlock your phone on your way there. Your gun. You need your gun. You slam the door to the bathroom and fight with the deadbolt you’d installed for this reason. You send Hotch a message,   
‘Blue’ you switch your earring tracker back on as the door gives way. It’s the twins.   
“What’s going on?” You ask fear evident in your voice.   
“You’re coming with us. The boss wants to see you.” Mack says, his voice thick. You must have kneed him.   
“You could have just asked.” You pant, “you didn’t have to come attempt to kidnap me!”  
They load you into the back of a van. You’re on the floor with a blindfold over your eyes. Your heart is pounding and you’re trying to memorize every turn, curve and stop. It’s somewhere around twenty minutes later when the car stops again but this time it turns off. The twins come around the back of the van and pull you out.   
“Let’s go.” Tito growls and you stumble ahead of them. You’re still in your pajamas and are barefoot. Not the best combination considering you sleep in a long tshirt and booty shorts. The floor is cold on your feet, you really should have grabbed shoes when you were dragged out of your house.   
“Go right.” Mack snarls and you do as he says. There’s a door at the end of the hallway and it opens before you get there. There’s a tall man standing in front of you. Scowl on his face and tattoos snaking up his arms and neck.   
“This is our little troublemaker Jazlynn.” Mack says, “The boss wanted to see her.” The man nods and you’re shoved through the door. No one is in the room. The door slams shut before you can turn around.   
“Wait! Don’t!” You cry slamming the side of your fist against the door. “Shit.” You hiss. You pace the room for a few minutes, Hotch and his team have got to be close as long as he was woken by your alert. You’re going to get the hell out of here, you check the door for weak spots and can’t find any. A moment later the lock on the door slides. You scurry away from the door and into one of the corners. The door creaks open and the twins walk in, they’re followed by a man that you know. That everyone in town knows, hell, you’d voted for him.


	7. Chapter 7

“Mayor Davidson?” You gasp, “you’re the boss?”  
“Yes Miss Rickerds.” Well at least you knew your cover wasn’t blown. “You’ve been causing me some issues lately.” He says stalking into the room. You’ve got nowhere to go. He pins you against the wall with a hand around your throat. “I don’t like when my bitches cause me trouble.” He sneers, you are not going out like this. Hell. No. You bring your arm down onto the crease of the arm that’s choking you. It breaks his grip enough for you to suck down a lung full of air. You kick him in the hip forcing him away from you. He pulls a gun from his waistband and you twist and press your back against him, pop the gun out of his hand and turn it on him. Tito comes rushing over and you spin the mayor around pressing his gun to his head.   
“Let’s just calm down here boys.” You say softly. “Drop the gun Tito, kick it away.” He does and you knock the mayor in the head with the butt of his gun knocking him out. He crumbles to the floor and you launch yourself at the nearest of the twins, Tito. You punch him with your right fist and swing around his back and put him in a choke. Mack comes rushing toward you with his knife out but it’s too late for his twin. He’s already unconscious. Mack swings at you with the knife and catches the side of your arm. You hiss in pain and he grins, sick bastard. You kick him away from you and he grunts as he hits the wall. You duck as he takes a swing at you with the blade and you punch him in the gut. When he doubles over you knee him in the face for the second time that night. With a scream he drops the knife and you kick it away. That’s when the door bursts open.  
Hotch is the first to enter followed closely by Morgan.   
“FBI! Don’t move!” Hotch snaps as Mack reaches for his knife. When he doesn’t comply Hotch shoots him in the arm.   
“We need a medic.” Morgan says into his mic as he begins cuffing Tito. Reid has moved onto the Mayor cuffing him before he can regain consciousness.   
“Are you okay?” Hotch asks softly, he catches your arm.   
“I’m fine. It’s a scratch.” He hadn’t seen the blood running down your arm until he felt it. He turns your arm in his hand and sees the cut.   
“You’re going to need stitches.” He states pulling his tie off.   
“What are you doing?” He begins to wrap your arm with the piece of fabric.   
“I’ve got to stop the bleeding.” He ties it off, pulling it tightly causing you to wince slightly. “Sorry.” He says softly, “I thought we were going to loose you there.” Mayor Davidson is starting to come to.   
“I can take care of myself.” His face falls, “but thank you.” You say placing a hand on his forearm. He meets your eyes again and you see hope there.   
“Good. FBI.” Mayor Davidson says with a groan. “Arrest her. She attacked me and my bodyguards! Why am I handcuffed? I demand you remove these.” Hotch sighs softly, thanks for ruining the moment mayor. “Hello! I’m the mayor! Whose in charge here.”   
“You need to shut the hell up!” Hotch snaps looking over at him.   
“Don’t let her fool you. She’s a pretty slut.” You grab Hotch’s arm as he makes for the mayor.   
“Thank you.” You say with a smile at Mayor Davidson as Morgan hauls him to his feet.   
“Thank you?” He looks puzzled.   
“You said I was pretty.” You smirk and you see Morgan bite back a laugh as he pulls the mayor toward the door.  
“You’re going to believe some whore over me? I’m the fucking mayor!” He screams.   
“And I’m FBI.” You respond coolly. His mouth drops open and he stares over at you with wide eyes. You cock a hip and put your hand on that hip. Your feet are freezing and you’ve got goosebumps running up your arms but you’ll be damned if you show weakness in front of Davidson, or either of the twins. Both of whom have been dragged to their feet. The second they’re lead out of the room you let a shiver run down your spine and rub your arms. It’s May but that doesn’t mean it’s warm. Suddenly something warm is draped across your shoulders. You didn’t notice Hotch pull off his suit coat, but it’s much appreciated. You slip your arms in then tug the fabric together with your hands. Now if they only had some shoes.   
“We need to search the basement for some girls, I have a bad feeling I’m not the only troublemaker they’ve brought down here.” You say through chattering teeth.   
“You need to get warmed up. Agent Leary wanted me to make sure you called and none of these men fit our profile so we still need to find the UnSub.” He’s got a protective hand on your elbow and is leading you out of the basement. With any other man being treated like you needed protecting would have pissed you off, but from him it was kind of, nice.


	8. Chapter 8

He brings you out of the basement and you’re more grateful that Hotch gave you his coat when you feel the wind has picked up since you were last outside. He directs you first to an EMT who cleans the cut and assures you that you don’t need stitches. She covers the wound and throws Hotch’s tie into a bio hazard bag. “I’ll buy you a new one.” You promise, he waves you off but you already know what color he’s going to get.   
“I want to get you more warmed up.” He says holding a hand out to you. The EMT had given you a blanket and you’d shrugged Hotch’s coat back on when she’d finished tending to your cut but the wind was cutting right through all the fabric.   
“I’m sorry! You must be freezing.” You say taking his hand as he helps you down from the back of the ambulance.   
“I’m alright. This truck.” He says ushering you into the passenger seat of one of the SUV’s. You climb in and try to stop the shaking, Hotch climbs into the driver’s seat and turns on the heat.   
“Thanks.” You sigh as the heat hits your toes. “I want to help get the UnSub.”   
“You’ll have to talk to Agent Leary about that.”   
“You’re the highest ranking agent in the field, you make the call.”  
“What would Leary say?”  
“I don’t know. Can you turn the heat on my feet please? My toes are freezing.” He does as you ask.   
“I feel like you know what Leary would say and that’s why you don’t want to ask her.”  
“Leary isn’t here. She can’t see that I’m perfectly fine.” You see him look pointedly at your arm. “Okay, 98% fine. At least give me the profile, I know most of the women and the pimps that work in the city. I was working as a free agent. No gang connections. I just had to pay the gang whose territory I was in.”  
“Okay fine.” He sighs, “we’re looking for a small man or woman who is angry at the johns. We think that the UnSub is killing them to protect the girls.”  
“Are the johns that are being killed rough customers?”  
“By rough customers you mean they beat women or get overly aggressive yes.”  
“Why do you think it’s a woman or a small man?”  
“They use a gun and each victim has been tied up prior to being killed.”  
“Like bondage or just to subdue?”  
“Here.” He pulls out an iPad and passes it to you, “look for yourself.” The knots are well formed, but unusual. One of the girls had taught you how to do proper ties for bondage, ones that would hold but wouldn’t hurt, in case you ever had a client who wanted that. You’ve seen these knots before.   
“I know who the UnSub is.”


	9. Chapter 9

“I’m sorry, I know who the UnSubs are.”  
“Are?” He looks at you in surprise.   
“Yea.”   
“We didn’t profile as two. How sure are you about this?”  
“I’m positive. It’s the knots. They’re done this way by a specific woman, she has a guy who goes around with her as protection.”   
“Protection from what?”  
“I guess she was attacked a few years ago and ever since he goes around with her. It’s Marta and Adam.”   
“Do you know their last names?”  
“No. I do think they’re married though.” He pulls out his cell phone.   
“Garcia. I need you to look for a marriage license for Marta and Adam.” He pauses, “No last name. Thanks Garcia.”   
“Whose Garcia?”  
“She’s our tech analyst.”  
“Nice. I wish I had a tech analyst to call for information.”  
“It’s nice. She’s good at what she does even if she can be a little odd.”  
“Odd?”  
“When she answered just now she said ‘yes oh captain my captain’ and that’s tame for her.” You chuckle softly and he grins over at you.   
“I might know where they work if you want to check it out.”  
“Yes, let me get my team together.” You nod and he gets out of the car. You take that opportunity to call Cam.   
“You okay?” She answers after the first ring.   
“Yea I’m fine.”   
“What happened?” You fill her in on everything that went down and have reached the point where Hotch and Morgan came into the room. That’s when Hotch and his team break up and split into the two SUV’s. Hotch, Reid and Prentiss all pile into the one you’re in.   
“It was the mayor?” Cam asks.   
“Yea. Hey Cam I’ve got to go.”  
“Okay. Get me the report by noon tomorrow.” You glance at your watch and see that it’s nearly five in the morning.   
“Two?”  
“Fine.”  
“Thank you.” You hang up and Hotch looks over at you. “It was Cam. You guys ready?”  
“Yep. Where are we going?” You direct him to the three block radius you’ve see her working at before. Their phones all buzz and Hotch doesn’t touch his.   
“We have pictures from Garcia.” Prentiss says from the back seat.   
“Can you open it for me?” Hotch asks you and you pick up his phone, open the message and show him.   
“I think she uses the Merry Traveller for some of her johns.” You say, just before you see Adam. “Hotch.”   
“I see him.” He pulls the car up to the motel and Adam makes a run for it.


	10. Chapter 10

Morgan and JJ take off after Adam. “I’m going to need a gun and a vest.” You say unbuckling with the rest of the agents in the car.   
“You’re not going in.” Hotch says.   
“What? Why not?”  
“You’re in your pajamas, and are bare foot.”  
“That stops me from being able to handle a gun how?”  
“No.” He passes you a .22 from his ankle. “Just in case you see either of them. Stay here. That’s an order. Do you understand?” You scowl at him and hear Prentiss chuckle softly. “Do you. Understand?”  
“Copy.” You growl through your teeth. You know he’s right, you look like a mess but that doesn’t make you any happier about the situation. You’re sitting in the warmth of the SUV when you see the twins partner, Joe moving up the stairs toward where Hotch and his team have disappeared. You slide quietly up the stairs behind him. “Stop. FBI.” You say pointing Hotch’s gun at him. He does, “let me see your hands.” He puts his hands up and you see the gun in his right hand. “Drop the gun.”  
“I don’t think I will.” He says softly. “You’re going to pay you lying slut.”  
“Drop it. I won’t ask again.” You say calmly. He goes to turn and you fire, twice into his right shoulder and he drops the gun. You’re only halfway to him when Reid and Rossi appear from another hallway, they come rushing over as you kick away Joe’s gun and Rossi cuffs him a moment later. Hotch comes out of another hallway followed by Prentiss and Marta. He doesn’t look happy when he sees you but what were you supposed to do? Let him shoot the BAU?   
“I thought you were staying in the car.” He growls under his breath at you.   
“Was I supposed to let him come up here and kill everyone?” You ask willing your teeth not to chatter.   
“You’re going to give yourself hypothermia.”   
“I’m fine Hotch.” You say with a sigh, you’ve still got his coat on but he’s right, you’re cold.   
“I know.” He says softly, “walk with me.” You go without hesitation. Hotch leads you away from the team and down one of the hallways. He doesn’t say anything for a while and neither do you, you’ll let him start this conversation.   
“I don’t know what it is about you Jazlynn, but for some reason I just feel like I need to protect you.” He says softly.   
“It’s my size. You’re not the first and you won’t be the last.” You laugh softly, “The weird thing for me is that when you do it I don’t mind. With other men, I get so annoyed.”   
“It doesn’t bother you that I do?”  
“It’s not my favorite thing.”  
“But?”  
“I think it’s kind of sweet.” You stop and look at him, “I’m not going to lie to you, mostly because I feel like you’d see right through that. I like you. I think you’re attractive.” He looks down at you then and smiles softly.   
“I was kind of hoping that was the case.” Then he kisses you, it’s different than when you’d kissed him for your cover in the car. For one thing he’s above you, his lips are pressed more firmly to yours and his fingers are tangled in your hair. Your hands are gripping his arms, and you press yourself closer to him.   
“Hotch?” You hear JJ call from around the corner and you pull away from him then step away. He looks at you with a small smile then calls back to JJ.   
“Over here. What’s going on?”  
“We’re all ready to go.”   
“Alright.” He places a hand on the small of your back and guides you back toward the cars. You’re not sure if he even notices that he’s being protective, even just walking to the SUV’s. You climb into the front seat of Hotch’s SUV again riding back to the station in silence.   
“Could I hitch a ride back to Quantico with you guys?”   
“Of course. Do you need to get anything from your apartment?”  
“Yea, just some clothes but I can go while you guys get everything together here.”  
“I’ll drive you.” Hotch says quietly, you nod knowing it’s useless to argue.


	11. Chapter 11

You gathered what little you had at your apartment quickly. You put on warmer pants and keep a sweatshirt out for the flight. Your report doesn’t take long since you’d started writing it the day you’d started this case. You’ve finished it and sent it off to Cam before the jet had even taken off. Then you’d crashed in your seat next to Hotch, you crashed hard. He actually had to shake you awake. That was the last time you’d seen him. Cam had picked you up and brought you home and then followed your two weeks of what was called R&R or detox. It was to make sure that you weren’t suffering from what happened while you were undercover. When your two weeks are up normally you’re itching to get back out into the field, but not this time. Something happened, it doesn’t hold the same thrill anymore. After you deny the second case Cam brings you she corners you at your desk.   
“Okay, what’s going on with you? Normally I have to fight you to keep you off of cases.”  
“I don’t know Cam. None of this feels right anymore. I think I’m done.”  
“Done? Jazlynn you were made for undercover work.”  
“I used to think so too. Can I just have some time? Just another couple days to think?” You look up at her and see the concern.   
“Yea. Of course, take the rest of the day too.” You nod, throw your things into your bag and head out. You go to the mall and find a tie in the light purple color you were looking for, have it boxed and then head to the office with the BAU. You don’t even know if he’ll be there. Swiping your key card and going through security doesn’t take long. You get to the tenth floor where the BAU is located and see him through the glass doors. An intern hurries by and you catch her by the arm.   
“Excuse me. Sorry. Could you bring this to Agent Hotchner?” You ask passing her the box. “It’s a tie. You can look if you need to.”  
“It’s not a problem ma'am.” She says and you watch as she heads into the BAU and directly up to his office. Maybe you should have added a note. He looks up and thanks the intern who hurries out and back on her way. He opens it and a small smile crosses his face. Standing he glances out the windowed doors and that’s when his eyes meet yours. He smiles a full smile this time and heads out of his office toward you. A moment later he’s standing in front of you with that smile still on his face.   
“Hi.” He says softly.   
“Hey.”  
“Thanks for the tie.”  
“I hope you’ll actually wear it. I think that color will look nice on you.”  
“I will.” He studies you for a moment then asks, “are you okay?”  
“Honestly? I don’t know. Do you have time for a coffee? I’m buying.”  
“Yea.” The two of you head down the elevator and out into the Quantico courtyard where, on nice days, a small café cart is set up. You both order a coffee and before you can stop him Hotch passes the barista a ten. “So, what’s going on in that head of yours Jazlynn?” He asks softly as you stroll away from the cart.   
“If I knew we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I think I’m going to leave sex crimes. But every time I’m about to send that letter of resignation I just can’t quite click send.”  
“Did something else happen on that last case? Something I don’t know about?” He asks looking concerned.   
“No. Cam wondered the same thing. It’s just, my heart isn’t in it like it was before.”  
“Do you want to leave the FBI?”  
“No. Yes. I don’t know. I feel like I’m having my midlife crisis early.” He laughs and you nudge him with a grin on your face, “it’s not funny Hotch.”  
“I’m sorry.” He says sobering, “how long have you been with sex crimes?”  
“Almost 10 years.”  
“That’s a long time. Maybe you’re just burnt out. You could always transfer to a different team.”  
“I’ve thought about that. What the BAU does is really interesting but I don’t want to work in your unit.”  
“Why not?” He seems offended.   
“Because then I couldn’t date you.” You flirt and he grins down at you.   
“I was concerned for a minute there. Do you speak any foreign languages?”  
“French and Spanish. Why?”  
“A friend of mine, Jack Garrett is putting together a team. It’s the BAU but they help find killers who take American citizens. He’s looking for people with language skills and I could pass along your name.”  
“I didn’t come looking for favors.”  
“I know. I think you’d be good.” You eye him skeptically but when his eyes meet yours you can tell he’s being honest. He does think you’d be good. “So should I pass your name along or not?”  
“Yea. But only if you let me take you to dinner. As a thank you.”  
“Deal.” He smiles over at you and you reach over and give his hand a squeeze.   
“Thanks Hotch.”  
“It’s nothing. I’m glad I could help.” He glances over his shoulder but you’re pretty far from campus and when he looks back at you he kisses you gently. “I’ve missed you.” He says after he pulls away, “I feel like I’ve known you forever and I didn’t want to push you into talking to me.”  
“I’m sorry. I was being stubborn.” You say with a small laugh. “Typical. I’ve missed you too.”  
“Good.”  
“Good?”  
“Yea.” He smiles and kisses you again. “I’ll call Garrett when I get back to the office but for now I’m all yours.”  
“All mine?” You grin up at him, “I know about a BAU schedule. I’ll take all the time I can get.” You pull his lips to yours again and finally find what’s been missing these past few weeks. Him.


End file.
